You Can't Spell Forgiving Without Giving
by Lavenderpaw
Summary: For anyone who has ever felt conflicted about doing the right thing,even if they person has wronged them.


The Desert Kougra rubbed at her chin,debating on whether to purchase a petpet paint brush in the color of fire or red for her Anubis.The shopkeeper owner,a blue Kiko,examined his watch with a weary sigh before letting his gaze wander over to an Ice Bori who had his nose buried in a book.Koilembala sensed him and turned.

"Can I help you?"he raised a frosted brow.

"Yeah,you can actually.Both of you kids have been standing at my shop desk for a good three hours and it's sun down.Some of us have cantankerous wives at home."

"Maybe she wouldn't be,if you bought her flowers every now and again,"He threw in the suggestion without caring if it fumed the older pet,turning to his sister with an exasperated look."Just pick the cheaper one,Maui.Red is red in my honest oppion."

Maui frowned at him,disappointed in his stingy behavior.

"That's just it.It isn't your opinion and it isn't mine either."she lowered down on her hunches in a sitting position."I want to make sure that Anubia will like this.If it's not what she wants we can't take it back,and you know Mum hates the trading post."

She kept glancing from one brush to the other for a few minutes before relenting to the pets and selecting the fire brush.The Kiko placed it inside an ivory box and tied an enormous crimson ribbon around it.Maui grinned as she received and felt an unusual jitteriness of jollity inside of her as she gave him her neopoints,anticipating Anubis's reaction.

Well,he couldn't react facially but Maui was sure he'd just love it!

"I can't believe you blew your whole years allowance on a brush not even for you."

The Kougra shook her head."Hmph.It was my choice and besides-"

"Oof!"

Contents in the box and that of another one's shifted as they dropped to the ground at the feet of a stranger.Maui blushed with embarrassment,and fumbled down onto her knees to collect both packages.Once they were in her paws she rose up to apologize.

"I'm so sorry."she held the other white box out in the greying sky to a high collared individual."It was my fault.My mind was elsewhere,I guess."The stranger accepted it back and went on his way without a word leaving Maui to stand with her own box.

"What a chatterbox."Koi observed sarcastically from behind her.

She formed a concerned expression."I wonder if something's the matter."

"Of course nothing's the matter,that's Dr. Death.He's always in a sour mood.It's said on Neopedia that...oh no.You've got that I've-gotta-look-into-this-more expression."

Normally Maui would have said something in response,but her feeling of intrigue to the mysterious elder Techno was fast acting.As always,she knew she'd find herself setting any summer activities aside to research more into the pet.Before they headed home Maui found the perfect reason to impose;the bow off the package was missing.

Mid-morning sunshine streamed bountifully over the green hills that surrounded the market place,and onto a lounging Desert Kougra who lapped off some of the extra soup that had gotten on her paws from helping the Soup Faerie earlier that morning. She looked up and down the little dirt trail that stretched out before the brick pound.

"Hello dear."Came a quaint,homey voice from the air.A red Uni appraised her eyes as it gently flapped down beside her."My oh my.I'm sorry you had to wait so long."

Maui smiled at the older pet thoughtfully."No big.I just wanted to see Dr. Death."

"Oh,"her ears drooped."I see.You poor thing.We'll get you a cage immediately."As the Uni began ushering with her large hooves back and the Kougra tried to protest up at her,someone dressed in a beige-colored trench coat approached and cleared his throat.

Both looked up at the raspy sound."What's going on here?"a male voice demanded.

"Well,I think we got a mix up yesterday."Explained Maui,quickly slipping from the Uni's loosened grasp with her hooves and sprinting up to the squinty-eyed Techno.

Dr. Death appeared to tune her out as she rambled on energetically,taking the box of ivory back from the overtalkative Kougra and inspecting it mindfully before tucked it under his arm to continue on into the pound.Maui just stood there watching him go with the full knowledge he hadn't given her the paint brush back that he possessed.

She turned to Rose once he was out of ear-shot."Why is he so crabby,ma'am?"

"Oh,I don't know."a breath of quiet wondering escaped her lips."He works so hard and right by my side every day,never uttering a friendly word or acknowledgement."

"He could at least apologize for not saying thank you."

The Uni lifted a brow and had to place a hoof to the front of her muzzle in order to suppress her laughter."Dr...Dr. Death,apologizing or thanking someone?It will be a bright,sunny day in the Haunted Woods before that ever happens."

Maui dropped to her paws and headed back in the direction of home dejectedly.

With the dawning of the new day,came an even more determined Desert Kougra set on speaking with the estranged Techno.Maui crouched down low under some brush near the trail the pet took,awaiting the chance she could spring out and put her plan into action.Albeit an hour would pass before a figure's elongated shadow appeared.

Maui rubbed her tongue along her fangs,and curled her tail around her hindquarters as she readied herself.A pair of cleated black boots plodded passed her hiding spot and were a few feet well ahead,when the Kougra leaped out.Before Dr. Death could turn around Maui was already was already in her biped position and looking away.

He carried on with a dismissive grunt,now aware that the pre-teen pet was following along off to his side.The two didn't speak and only when Maui began to whistle in a causal,merry tune did he even bother glancing over at her again.As they walked the feelings of timidity she had felt before gradually turning back into pure intrigue of him.

"I know it seems like I'm prying but I just can't help it sometimes.My owner says I've got this boundless enthuse to know stuff.It's weird but once my interest gets caught in something or someone I can't stop til' I figure them out,you know."Maui confessed.

"Then I guess the sentence 'Mind your own business' has never applied to you,eh?"

She smiled modestly."Well,I try my best.I'm interested in other things too though like sports,Chokato Kougra Pudding,wrestling,diet neocola,Strawberry Kougra Pudding."

He gave a disgruntled scoff.

"How long will it take to get you to stop coming here?"Inquired the irritated Techno as they approached the beginning of the pound.When she didn't respond,he whirled on her and down to her level."Well!?What is it going to take to get you to amscray,kid?"

Maui rose up on her toes until they were nose-to-nose."I've thought it over,and all I want from you is you to accept my apology from when we bumped into one another."

With a huff,the Techno backed up and stalked over to the front door."I do not ever accept apologies."he stuck his key in the lock for emphasise."Nor do I give any out."

"Maybe if you made an exception people would see you differently.I mean,"she gave a quick sprint to catch up before he could close the door."You had to of done so once."

Dr. Death stepped into the dark lobby.

"Everyone has had to apologize,or has had to accept an apology at some time in their life."

He flipped on the multiple light switches with a single finger.

"Even my eldest brother who's a total pain has apologized for something."

The Techno shook his head tiredly."Child,enough.I know you find my life dark and mysterious.That's why all you shot-nosed brats snoop around here,to dig into my private life and uncover my 'checkered past'.Well,there's nothing to tell.Now it the path,cat!"

Maui sighed,but decided to spend the rest of the morning hanging around outside.

A week passed,and they hadn't exchanged a tidbit of dialogue to one another.Maui did what she always did in those cases,stick to the subject of her research topic like glue.Everyday she would be climbing a tree,or reading a magazine near the pound in an effort to appear casual and yet keep an eye on the Techno until he left that evening.

"Ugh!What could I possibly do that I haven't already tried?"She shouted aloud on her bed one night.The outside was cloaked in total darkness,and she was hovering over a notebook .It had useful for ideas that she'd tried and others that were just too bizarre.

Her brother poked his head inside the ajar door."Is that you making all that racket?"

"Maybe."

"Okay,two things.First off,work on your sarcasm.Second,stop making so much noise."

"Sorry,"she fell back on the polka dotted bedspread with a sigh."I just can't come up with anything that'll make him accept my apology,or in the least just open up and talk."

Koi shook his head in amazement."And even after he never gave you back that brush."

"Pretty much."

"Well,"The tone in his voice took on a crafty one."I took on a wee little mission while everyone was away and discovered this."From out behind his back,the Bori produced a framed photo of a younger,evidently happier Dr. Death holding up a fire Puppyblew.

"Where'd you get this?"

Koi grinned and pulled a black ski mask onto his head."From when we went to Terror Mountains last Christmas."He saw her demanding look."What?The picture you mean?It was what was in the box he was carrying.Dr. Death left it unopened in a back room."

"You stole this from the pound!?"Maui felt her jaw drop.

"Stole is such a strong word..."

"Did you or did you not,Koilembala?"

"No,I borrowed it so you could have an idea of this guy's background.My plan is that before sunrise tomorrow you're going to return the photo,get your brush back which I didn't have time to get and then you can rest easy knowing everything is secure again."

"Or..."She spoke dangerously low as she advanced on the intimidated pet."Both of us are going to return this photo in a couple of hours or I'll make you admit you did this."

Koi chuckled nervously."Um...okay.Just,you know,retract your claws first please?"

x.x.x

Both pets struggled to crawl along inside the circuit of smelly ventilation shafts linking through out the pound.According to Koi,their selected room was precisely thirty feet straight up ahead and seven feet to the left.Maui could hear the muffled wonderment that came from abandoned pets beneath them as they clunked and plunked their way along.

"I thought you said there'd be enough room."Said the Kougra complaintively as she felt herself shoved up against the wall by his elbow,recounting her brother's exact wording.

Koi strained to move forward."I did.Maybe you should lay off the Kougra pudding."he managed to get one shaft ahead of her where the floor turned into an air duct under him. "All right,I'm going to need my tool kit in order to get the frame..."His words went trailing.

For said frame lay over on the farthest wall with the screws completely out.Maui had her index claw protracted,and was smiling smugly.Shaking his crystalline head,he retrieved a Korbat sticky hand and handed it to her.She simply sat there looking perplexed until he showed her that he wanted to use the green toy to lower her down into the room below.

"Why me?"

"Why not?This whole thing started with you running into that grouchy Techno."

Reluctantly,Maui clasped the squishy bat in her paws while her brother sat safely on the brim of the air duct and gave her a thumbs up as he held the other end.The purple camo spy suit he had insisted she sport was itching up a storm as she descended into the pitch black room.It was completely silent,possibly sound-proof,except for the Bori's directing.

"Okay,good."his voice level was held at a whisper."Now you're going to wanna follow a beam of light that will shine on the desk to your left.His box is lying up on a stack of junk."

The Kougra swallowed hard as her back paws made contact with the floor.She brought back her ears while looking around the place,only to have darkness fill her eyes.Ivory light emitting from a flashlight appeared near her toes and then travelled up to a brown desk in which she saw was cluttered high with old files.Realization that it was a filing room hit her.

"Got the picture?"Koi asked.

She nodded back up at him and watched as he used the sticky hand to wrap around the box so as to deliver it to her with a small boing.Removing the top from the empty box lid, Maui peered inside before placing the photo in and sealing it back up.Once he saw that her mission was a success,he looped the sticky hand and twirled it in a cowboy imitation.

"Come on,Kaupoke Sticky Fingers.We need to go."Maui laughed.

All of a sudden,the flashlight her brother had held started waving around wildly.

"What's the deal?Keep it steady and help me out of here."

"GAH!Nooo...get off me!No,no.Not my handsome face,not my handsome face!"

Maui stared up wide-eyed as the beam of light began to spin around and fall down toward her head.Snatching it out of mid-air,she fearfully directed it up to the ceiling and found the source of Koi's shrieking.An excitedly squirming,fire Puppyblew was hanging by his scuff in one of the Bori's hands.She felt relief filter through her when the entire room instantly lit up.

To her shock,the adult Techno stood in the doorway with his hands in his lab coat.

"I figured he had ran off for good after he snuck into the ventilation system all those years ago."he appeared extremely forlorn."I'd had Scruffy for four years,and only about a year after we installed the vents did he climb into it."Maui felt a pang of sympathy for Dr. Death then.

"You mean you thought he had escaped to the outside and left?"She asked softly.

"That's correct but I never did bother closing the air duct outside up.A part of me somehow always held out hope that he'd return to me one day.I guess that's why I became this way."

"Haha!"Koi said triumphantly."Now you have something on the old coot Maui.Tell him that if he doesn't see to it your brush is returned we'll be holding his beloved Scruffy hostage."

The Kougra looked from her brother to the exposed-looking Techno.Part of her wanted to do the right thing,yet the other half wished to enact some type of pay back.Not only did he still have her expensive paint brush,he had been nothing short of rude and insulting to her.It only took her to look down at the photo and then up at the whining Puppyblew to decide.

"Koi,I want you to take the Puppyblew-"

"Yes!"

"...and I want you give it back to his owner please."

"You sure?"Koi asked with disbelief."I mean,I know we just kid around Maui but this pet has been really mean to you.Not doubt he's been mean to others."She gave him a firm nodding.

"I'm very sure."

A bit begrudgingly,the Bori lowered himself down by use of the sticky hand and sat it down onto the floor.The crossed-eyed pooch looked up at Maui for a moment before running up into the Techno's arms.Both siblings smiled at each other over the affectionate reunion and left out of the pound.The sky was just beginning to blossom into a deep violet and crimson.

"What you did back there is worth a million paint brushs."Koi comforted her as she shed a tear over the whole event.They then parted company and Maui headed off just to be by herself.

x.x.x

"Miss Maui020304,you have a package."

Maui heard Ripplerazberry call out for her.Getting up from doing a jigsaw puzzle with her baby Tonu brother Obviouskiss,she met her teenaged owner out in the parlor of their neohome.At the girl's questioning look over the sender she only shrugged and went to her room.Maui then checked the return address as she sat the package down onto her bed.

Strangely,there was no address other then own address done in marker.She made a little incision on the tap and opened the flaps up anyways to reveal not only a glowing brush of the fire variety inside,but also a note folded note inside.With the curiosity that came from being a feline type cat,Maui picked it up and opened to read only a single sentence written on it.

'You can't spell forgiving without giving.'

The Kougra smiled over at her fire Anubis curled up in a tight ball on it's own little bed.

"Well,I guess now Mum will have to break down and use the trading post."

The End.

_Note:This story is authorized for only Lavenderpaw,Pipplerazberry and the staff at Neopets usage_.

LP


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